[THE DESCENT]

and here you are living despite it all.

DAMON SALVATORE WAS an idiot through and through. That man always has to pretend he's all big and strong to people he thinks are weaker than him, especially women. So winding up Jules, the werewolf that's looking for Mason Lockwood—who is decomposing in his truck—ended up in Rose getting bit.

Juliette was upset at Damon, he had never once thought of the consequences of his actions. He is the reason Rose will die.

As soon as Damon called Juliette, telling her what had happened, she immediately made her way there. She liked Rose, she was just a vampire who had been bound to the shadows for more than 500 years. She has been on the run for her whole eternal life, Rose hasn't had the chance to live properly, despite being around for a long time.

"I was born in 1450, that makes me 560 years old," Rose spoke, she was staring into space as Juliette sat opposite her, a sad expression on her face. She hates that Rose was just sitting there, trying to convince herself that she was okay with dying, Juliette knew she wasn't.

Damon walked closer to her, "Well if you were a bottle of wine..."

"So I can die. I've lived long enough." The vampire ignored Damon, looking like she was not coming to terms with the fact that she just said that.

"You know, if you're gonna morn, I'm just gonna kill you myself just to put me out of your misery." The raven-haired vampire said, putting a blood bag into one of his bourbon glasses. Juliette glared at him as he just shrugged his shoulders, she knew deep down that Damon was struggling with this whole situation.

He liked Rose. He was as distraught as Juliette was. But he just chooses to hide it like an idiot.

Rose has no one now that Trevor is dead, thanks to stupid Elijah, so Juliette wants her to feel that even though she may feel alone, she will always have Juliette by her side.

"I'm raiding your fridge, I'm starving," Juliette mumbled as she stood up from the armchair, passing Damon as Rose began to drink the blood.

"Yeah, don't break anything this time! You owe me for that glass!" Damon shouted after her. Juliette chuckled and shook her head as she passed Elena, "Hey. What's up."

"Stefan is going to try and find Isabelle."

"Why?"

"So he can get information on Klaus."

Juliette furrowed her brows, "That's a good thing, Elena, you may not like it but it's all we have right now to help you." The blonde explained as the brunette nodded along.

"Yeah, you're probably right." The younger Gilbert mumbled.

"I'm always right, Elena."

"Juliette Gilbert."

She froze.

There it was again. The voices.

"J, you okay?" Elena asked, forcing the blonde to look at her, getting rid of the scared and confused look on her face. She couldn't let Elena know.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm fine." Juliette replied, smiling softly at her sister, "I'm going to go get food." She said finally before walking away, her heart beating violently against her chest.

What is happening to me?

Why did she keep hearing voices in her head?

Juliette walked into the kitchen, her heart thudded violently against her ribs, each beat echoing in her ears. She gasped for air as she stumbled against the counter sweat beaded on her forehead and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

Juliette didn't understand what was wrong with her. The last few weeks, her whole life, which she had spent many months rebuilding after her parent's death, seemed to be crumbling before her.

"Juliette Gilbert."

The blonde gripped the counter, her fingers turned white from how hard her grip was. A sharp, stabbing pain shot through her chest, making her clutch her shirt in desperation.

"You will pay for what you did."

"W-what?" She trembled out, tears streaming down her face, what was happening to her?

The room spun around her, the edges of her vision blurred as she tried to steady herself. The voice echoed in her mind, relentless and unforgiving.

"Stop it, please." She whispered, her hands moving to cover her ears, hoping that would stop the voices.

"Juliette Gilbert. You cannot escape your fate."

She sank to the floor, her back against the cabinets, pulling her knees to her chest. Her breathing came in shallow, ragged gasps, her mind a chaotic swirl of fear and confusion.

Am I losing my mind?

Images flashed before her eyes—memories she couldn't place, faces and voices she didn't recognise. This pain in her chest sharpened, spreading like a fire throughout her body.

A woman with long black hair flashed in her mind, she had blood all over her and a frightened look on her face as she stared into Juliette's eyes. Her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out, the blonde couldn't make out what she was saying.

"She will get her revenge for what you have done."

"Juliette!" Elena's voice cut through the tension, and then her sister was crouched down next to her, eyes filled with concern.

"Breath, J. Just breathe," Elena comforted, her hands gently grabbing Juliette's, guiding them to her chest as she felt her erratic heartbeat slow down.

Juliette listened to Elena's voice, using it as a distraction as she slowly could feel herself breathe again.

The Gilbert siblings just sat on the floor, Juliette sobbing silently into her sister's shoulder while Elena comforted her, running her hand through her blonde hair.

What was wrong with me?

✧✧✧✧

AFTER JULIETTE'S PANIC attack in the kitchen, Elena non-stopped asked what was wrong. Juliette just came up with a random lie, she couldn't tell Elena she would think she was insane.

Juliette doesn't even know what's going on, she first needs to figure out before telling anyone anything.

The blonde was going to go with Stefan to the grill to get Isabel's number off Alaric and to also watch Damon attempt to kill Jules because that would be hilarious.

But Elena wouldn't let her go, telling her that after what just happened, maybe she should have a day inside. Despite Juliette's protests, Elena wouldn't change her mind.

Kinda funny considering I'm the oldest and I'm getting bossed around by a 17-year-old but okay.

So Juliette sat on the Salvatore couch while Elena helped Rose get some rest. Rose was deteriorating quickly and she was trying so hard to accept the fact that she was okay with dying, and Juliette knew she wasn't.

It was sad watching her die after she was just granted freedom after 500 years of living in fear of Elijah Mikealson. And now she doesn't even get to feel what freedom is.

A loud bang and Elena's screams pulled Juliette out of her stupor as she sprinted up to Damon's room. Rose had pinned Elena up against the wall, her hands around her neck.

"It's all your fault, Katerina. You, Katerina, did this." Rose seethed as veins pulsed from under her eyes.

"Rose!" Juliette shouted from behind her, desperately looking around the room to find anything to incapacitate the vampire. But she couldn't find anything, her eyes desperately swept across the room one more time as Elena carried on shouting.

"I'm not Katherine!"

With that Rose seemed to calm down, her veins had disappeared and her face was guilt-ridden. "Elena?" Her voice shook as she spoke, tears filled her eyes as Juliette walked over next to her.

"It's me, It's Elena." The brunette breathed out again, fear still written all over her face but she had to remain calm to not scare Rose any more than she already has.

Rose lets out a cry, "Oh my God Elena. I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me." She sobbed, tears streaming down her face as Juliette gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

Me too girl, it's okay.

"You're gonna be alright," Juliette mumbled, Rose turned to her and slightly gripping onto her shirt for support, Juliette just let her.

"My mind, I'm..." The vampire stumbled over her words, she was still shocked over her hallucination. Juliette felt her eyes tear up, it was awful seeing someone she considered a friend, despite not knowing her for long, go through something like this.

"It was just for a second." Elena comforted.

The vampire turned to look over at Elena, "I'm sorry, don't be scared of me." She breathed out, her grip on Juliette's shirt tightening.

"I'm not. I'm not, but you need to rest."

Juliette agreed and guided the sick vampire towards Damon's bed, laying her down gently as she snuggled herself into the sheets, sighing as her head hit the pillow. All she needs now is rest and sleep.

"I'm scared," Rose mumbled, breaking Juliette's heart as she sat at the edge of the bed, holding the vampire's hand.

"You're not alone. we are right here." The blonde spoke softly, pulling at a piece of loose fabric from Damon's comforter. With what she said, Rose sat up quickly, an erratic look on her face as she looked around the room.

"Here, where's here?"

"Damon's bedroom, you're in Damon's bedroom," Elena responded as she helped Rose lie back down in the bed, sharing a look of concern with Juliette. They both knew that today would be Rose's last night, it was inevitable, she was going to die and they couldn't do anything about it.

Elena starts asking about Rose's home, trying her best to make the vampire feel calm and comforted. Juliette looked away from the scene, letting a few stray tears fall down her cheeks.

She didn't know why she was crying, she hadn't cried in months but today, she was very emotional. Maybe it was because both she and Rose were going through something they both didn't understand Rose's being worse but at the end of the day, they were just confused with what was going on with them.

Juliette considered Rose a friend. She truly believed that she would have stuck around until Elena was safe, she seemed like that type of person. Juliette was hoping they had more time with her to build a friendship and get to know her better.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted, I just wish I wouldn't have been so afraid."

✧✧✧✧

    AFTER A LOT OF begging, Elena had let Juliette go on a little walk. She couldn't stay in that gloom and doom house anymore, and she was sure Elena would be okay with Rose, hopefully.

Juliette walked through the dark forest, the cold bitter wind nipped at her skin as her eyes looked at the scenery around her. The trees stood tall over her, towering over her like they were rulers and she was their servant.

The blonde always liked to go on walks and take a moment to enjoy the scenery around her. She would do a lot to clear her mind and today she needed to do that.

Today was full of confusion and emotion, so many things happened.

"You will pay for what you did."

"Juliette Gilbert. You cannot escape your fate."

"She will get her revenge for what you have done."

What could these all mean? Revenge? Fate? What had she done?

Juliette couldn't come up with any logical explanation for any of this. She got real confirmation today, that the voices were real, they weren't made up.

Now they had said full sentences, threatening sentences. But why?

Juliette was growing more and more concerned for her welfare. She was going insane and the people around her didn't know.

But how-

"Juli"

The blonde let out a scream as she felt someone grab her arm, she turned around expecting a serial killer but she was met with Elijah, who was close enough.

"Jesus Christ! Don't do that!" She shouted, pulling her arm out of his grip as her heartbeat banged against her chest.

Elijah chuckled as he spoke, "I did not mean to scare you, Juli." Again with that nickname. Juliette was truly going to kill him one day if he didn't stop being so annoying.

"Why are you in the woods?"

"Why are you?" he countered.

Juliette scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I asked first." she crossed her arms over her chest as she raised her brow at the vampire in front of her.

"You are very bossy, has anyone told you that before?" Elijah asked, smiling as he watched an offended look grow on Juliette's face.

"Really? Me bossy? I'm the least bossy person around here. I practically had to beg on my knees for Elena to let me come out when I was older than her. Which doesn't make sense, right?! But yet I had to do it! So don't call me bossy you idiot!"

Elijah just stared at the blonde, shocked and also a little amused at her random outburst. "I'm guessing today wasn't one of your best days?" he asked as Juliette began to walk away from him.

"Don't even get me started on today." She mumbled angrily. Kicking rocks that got in her way whilst she walked. She didn't know why she was so mad, there was something about being able to scream and shout at someone and they don't get offended that she liked.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Elijah asked, slipping his hands into his coat as he walked side by side with Juliette, slightly amused by how she was acting.

Juliette stayed silent for a moment, should she tell him? I mean I don't trust him but he's ancient so maybe he knows what's wrong with me?

The blonde stopped walking and fully turned to face Elijah, a serious look on her face as she spoke, "If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it to yourself?